Membership

Participating Libraries

CARLI has 126 Governing members. CARLI member libraries serve over 90% of Illinois higher education students, faculty and staff. CARLI comprises public and private schools, with two-year, four-year, and specialized programs of instruction including museums, historical societies, and private research libraries. The CARLI member libraries serve primarily the students, faculty and staffs of degree granting academic institutions.

View the list of Participating Libraries >>

Membership Benefits

Among the many benefits of CARLI membership are the I-Share integrated library system that serves 94 institutions; E-resources brokering, with over 2600 database subscriptions managed in 2022; the Illinois Library Delivery Service (ILDS), offering 24-hour delivery among 142 CARLI libraries and the state regional library systems; and the CARLI Digital Collections providing access to myriad special collections, containing over 3.1 Terabytes of items including images, printed and manuscript materials, sound recordings, and the Saskia Art Image and Sanborn Maps of Illinois collections. 

Visual Summary of FY 2024 Value of CARLI Membership

Learn more about the benefits of CARLI Membership >>

Find out more about CARLI!

Membership Eligibility and Fees

CARLI membership is open to all institutions that are recognized by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and that are an ILLINET member. Governing member institutions must be not-for-profit, and must be incorporated in Illinois (not designated as out-of-state by the IBHE.) Each CARLI member library member must demonstrate the ability to meet the core needs of its students, faculty and staff and must willing to participate actively in the resource sharing mission of the consortium.

Cultural and research libraries with missions that complement and enhance CARLI's primary services and have the potential to contribute to the advancement of CARLI and its academic members, but don’t meet these criteria may petition the CARLI Board for membership by submitting the Membership Questionnaire and Application. Cultural and research libraries must be ILLINET members, must be not-for-profit, and must be incorporated in Illinois.  

For-profit institutions of higher education that are incorporated in Illinois OR not-for-profit, out-of-state institutions of higher education as designated by the IBHE (even those with a physical presence in Illinois), are not eligible for membership.

Learn more about membership categories and fees>>

Membership Agreement

The mission of CARLI is to lead Illinois academic libraries to create and sustain a rich, supportive, and diverse knowledge environment that furthers teaching, learning, and research through the sharing of collections, expertise, and programs.

Download the CARLI Membership Agreement >>

Agreement for I-Share Participant Institutions

I-Share is an online catalog and library management system operated by and for the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) to support library resource sharing among participating member institutions. Participation in I-Share is available only to CARLI Governing Members libraries. CARLI members seeking to participate in I-Share must complete an I-Share application process and meet criteria beyond those required for general membership in CARLI. Participation in I-Share is granted at the discretion of the CARLI Board of Directors.

Download the I-Share Participant Agreement >>